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Healthy Blood Pressure

March 12th, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

Keeping a healthy blood pressure is more important now than ever before. The reason for this is that people are living a more sedentary lifestyle plus eating unhealthy has become a common habit. Hypertension occurs when the blood exerts a stronger than normal pressure over the walls of the blood vessels. This pressure can be strong enough to break the arteries and cause a wide number of health problems that can result in death. Heart attacks and strokes are among the most feared consequences of having high blood pressure but that is not all; many organs in the body like kidneys and lungs can also suffer great damage from this condition.

The average blood pressure has a reading below 120/80mmHg. The top number is the systolic blood pressure when the heart is pumping blood and the bottom one is the diastolic, pressure when the heart rests. As long you keep your blood pressure below the average reading your cardiovascular health will not present many problems. Once the blood pressure goes beyond the average reading the risk of suffering heart problems starts increasing. Hypertension do not have symptoms so your body could be getting internal damage and you will not notice until is too late. Sometimes people can experience headaches with blurred vision and nausea. In those cases you must the see doctor immediately.

One question that is always on the mind of the people is what causes hypertension? Well there are many factors that play an important role in developing hypertension. Possible the most important factor is the food that you eat. One general rule is that we become what we eat so a diet with fatty foods will normally lead us to suffer hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and many more diseases. When we eat foods high in fat our blood becomes thicker and the heart has to make more effort to pump it through the body. Genetics, salt intake and life activity also play a role as some causes of hypertension.

Getting a healthy blood pressure is easier than you might think. Most doctors will tell you that you have live the rest of your life with the condition but the truth is that you do not. Medication will only keep it under control but the condition is still there. Your blood pressure can get to healthy levels simply by eating correctly. Once you stop consuming fatty foods and start with many vegetables and fruits, your pressure will go down automatically. Many foods like garlic have amazing properties that can heal the human body. Stress can also be dangerous when suffering hypertension. Meditation and yoga are very useful to relax and calm which can help in preventing the pressure spikes that can be caused by stress.